Is 'Jerusalem' fit for church?

12:00AM BST 11 Aug 2001

SIR - Those unhappy about Blake's Jerusalem may be unaware that many believe that the first verse refers to the legend that Jesus was brought to England by Joseph of Arimathaea on one or more of his business trips to Cornwall to buy tin.

Penzance has a "Market Jew Street", and there several places on the Cornish coast that Jesus is thought to have visited. On St George's Island, off the town of Looe, there are the ruins of an old chapel just a few feet square.

This is strategically placed to give a clear view of the tin-mining area near Tavistock, and it is said that the young Jesus who was left in charge of the boat would be so placed as to see a smoke signal, indicating that the tin had been purchased and that it was time to get the boat ready for the journey home.

The "satanic mills" are thought by some to be the tin mines of the West Country, where conditions were appalling, or a reference to the use of child labour in the cotton mills.

Whatever other interpretations there may be of this hymn, I find it regrettable that some believe that we should be ashamed of everything in our history. We at least had our share of those who were dedicated to end social injustice.